The Need to Overcome Bad Energy Use Habits

The Need to Overcome Bad Energy Use Habits

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Everyone knows they should do their best to conserve energy. Energy costs are increasing regularly more efficient uses of power and gas can save a great deal of money. Additionally, we are learning that our excessive energy use may be contributing to environmental woes that could become increasingly severe over the passage of time.

Our understanding of the benefits and importance of conservation, however, do not always result in positive action. This is not merely an outgrowth of apathy. In many cases, it is because we do not believe we have the personal financial resources necessary to make a positive change in our consumption habits.

Sure, conserving energy would be nice, but who has the money available to buy a new water heater, better insulate their home, purchase new energy-saving appliances or install new energy efficient windows? Even those who could make these purchases would probably balk at the price tag. Solar conversion? A great idea, perhaps, but not a cheap fix. We know we should conserve energy. We believe we cannot reasonably afford to do so.

This mindset, however, prevents us from taking other actions that can have a significant impact on our energy use. When we look at conservation as a strategy that requires significant investment we neglect all of the smaller things we can do-many of which are free-to better our energy use strategies. All of us, regardless of income levels are capable of reducing our consumption and protecting the environment and natural resources while saving money for ourselves. Making positive changes toward that end won't cost a dime, either.

There are many free things we can do to decrease energy use. Much of our waste is the byproduct of poor habits that can be easily avoided. Take for instance the oft-mentioned overuse of electric lights. At any given point during the day we are likely to be using more electric lights than our needs require. In the evening, the problem tends to be even worse. If we would simply commit to powering only the lights we were using at any one time, we could decrease our power bills and conserve a great deal of energy. We simply need to break the bad habit.

A similar example is our overuse of climate control devices including heaters and air conditioners. We have all been told repeatedly that we can make a positive contribution to conservation simply by changing our thermostat's temperature a few degrees. By being willing to cut back

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on two degrees of heat in the winter or two degrees of cooling in the summer, we can post huge conservation gains without even noticing a significant difference in our comfort levels. Our habits alone stand in our way.

Another example of this problem is our continued use of power during peak periods. We here warnings every year that we should try to run our optional heavy appliances during those hours when the overall energy draw is lower. Evenings and early mornings are a great time to use energy outside of the peak periods. We have been instructed of the value of doing this and understand that we should save tasks like laundry for non-peak periods. Nonetheless, we continue to use power unabated during peak periods completely out of poor habits.

Why is there such a disconnect between what we know we should do and what we actually do? Some of it is undoubtedly attributed to the fact that breaking longstanding habits is more difficult than one might think. We do habitual things without thinking. They feel natural and it does take time to retrain ourselves. Another reason is our unwillingness to believe we can make a difference in the larger scheme of things. Saving a few cents per day on electricity doesn't seem like a big thing to us. Cutting our power use just a little bit hardly seems to be an effective way to attack the global energy crisis. Our sense of powerlessness helps destroy the motivation necessary to overcome our bad habits.

All of us should reflect on this and note that the cumulative impact of many people making small changes can be great. There is no reason to discount the impact and importance of our own personal behavior. Additionally, we should look at things in a larger scope. Instead of thinking in terms of pennies every day, we should think of the thousands of dollars we can save over a lifetime.

We know we should conserve energy. Now, after reflecting on that knowledge and reminding ourselves how we can be less wasteful, it is time to do it.

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